The Cub & the Cougar

C&C makes a comeback

It’s been a while since the Cub and the Cougar have been in action here. Somehow, yet perfectly, as we near the 4-and-a-half-year mark together our lives continue in parallel – making it seem as though this arrangement was more than just happenstance. Nance has been plowing through her masters program with only a few weeks to go. Meanwhile I have been engaged in a 3-pronged approach for figuring out the next step in life. Yes, my indecisiveness persists.

Our unwavering love of New York continues to unite us. The rhythm, heartbeat, and excitement don’t get old for people who get bored easily and can thrive just as well alone as with others. Our days are still littered with stories that color our present and surely resonate for the future.

For me, a persistent urgency to make a decision on what’s next has underscored this year. Often when I try to decide what’s next, the choices appear overwhelming. The decision is made harder from the fear of choosing the wrong, rigid path forward. To add to that, most of my friends seem to be swirling around in the same boat. Though, I don’t see this as floundering but exploring – picking up souvenirs from this exploration and broadening our horizons for what’s next.

Even though Nancy is in a different life stage with different concerns and burdens, she has remarkably been in a state of exploration herself. It really is remarkable. And inspirational. I truly believe that our time together fueled years of a mutual introspection that will be difficult to recreate. These days, we’ve both become laser focused together – wonderfully in sync. The starting visual of our sitcom on a Sunday morning these days? The Cougar reading the Times and the Cub reading the Economist. Sorry. Less interesting than random men slinking past our doormen at 7 AM but life goes in phases and we’ve toned it down for the moment.

We know we won’t always be together. My path forward may take me from New York. However we have many months more of our wonderful time in life’s dazzling sun together. As the years rush by I do have a sense that this is one of those times that will be cherished, but as we still live through it, this time must be capitalized upon while we have the pen in hand for this chapter.

And so that’s what we’ll do. The stories will persist and the parties will abound, albeit more intimately. Although the unforgettable antics that marked the start of our wonderful friendship remain, they have been somewhat tempered to stories that accompany long-term camaraderie. This blog was always a soapbox for our thoughts but also a snapshot of a truly remarkable time in two New Yorkers’ lives. Two unlikely, wonderfully perfect friends.